The art of aquarium fish nets is well developed and includes fish dip nets such as those described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,747,250 and 4,063,380, both of which have pockets fabricated from a combination of porous mesh material and non-porous, non-permeable sheet material. Dip nets having such combination-pocket constructions have been designed to reduce the likelihood of fish scales, fish fins or other fish appendages becoming ensnared or entangled in the large pores of netting material. However, the permeable portions of such nets prohibit flow of water therethrough and reduce the maneuverability of such fish nets when submerged in aquarium tanks.
In accordance with the principles of the present invention, the entire net pocket is fabricated from water permeable, porous materials so that the mesh is readily maneuverable through the aquarium tank. However, the major walls of the fish-engaging portion of the aquarium dip net, namely the front, bottom and rear walls, are fabricated from a single continuous sheet of very fine mesh material having a pore size so small that its surface is smooth to fish, thereby preventing the snagging of a fish appendage therein. The side walls of the net pocket are attached to the continuous end edges of the fine mesh front-bottom-rear pocket wall. The coarse mesh, having a large pore size, permits water to pass therethrough at a greater rate than that with which water passes through the continuous fish-engaging front-bottom-rear wall; however, the combined rate of passage of aquarium water through all the walls of the pocket is greater than that inherent in the above-described prior art nets having a combination of permeable and non-permeable pockets, thereby contributing to the maneuverability and efficacy of the fish net of the present invention.